THE WAELA WIRE: Information and Updates from the WAELA Board of Directors

February 2022

THE WAELA WIRE

Information and Updates from the WAELA Board of Directors

The beginning of a new year is an exciting time to review past successes and challenges and create new and continued goals with renewed energy. The result of this reflection and planning at WAELA is a longer WAELA Wire this month; hope you enjoy reading it!

PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE – 2022 Washington State Legislative Session

Updated by Bryana Cross Bean, Committee Chair

The 2022 Washington State legislative session is in full swing. This is a short session, lasting from January 10 to March 10, 2022, so there are fewer bills introduced. Most of the bills that WAELA is tracking are still in committee, and it is unclear if they are going to go anywhere.

Please find attached my bill tracking spreadsheet for this session. If you have additional legislative information that would benefit WAELA members contact Bryana Cross Bean.

There are four bills of particular interest:

SB 5816 seeks to repeal the new 988 mental health crisis emergency number. It is currently in the Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care but no action has been taken.

HB 1465 seeks to make the Washington State estate tax more progressive. It would increase the exclusion amount to $2.5 million and increase the tax rate for estates above $3 million. It is currently in the House Committee on Finances and no action has been taken.

SB 5629 prevents an individual from being able to be in charge of the disposition of a decedent’s remains if that person abused the decedent and had a vulnerable adult protection order in place or was convicted of a criminal misdemeanor related to that abuse. This has been passed out of committee and has been moved to the floor for vote.

HB 2083 appears to be an attempt by hospitals to circumvent the Power of Attorney and guardianship/conservatorship statutes for patients without a preexisting surrogate decision maker, and who need to be discharged from a hospital to long-term care. WAELA and other patient advocacy and disability rights organizations oppose this bill. Please find the attached letter WAELA sent in opposition. The bill has not yet passed out of the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary.

There are several bills addressing property tax relief for seniors and disabled individuals (SB 5337, SB 5391, SB 5802, SB 5337, SB 5913).

The Long-Term Care Services and Support Trust Program is also a popular topic, and there are a number of bills seeking to eliminate or weaken it (HB 1596, HB 1742, HB 1913, SB 5503, HB 1594, SB 5939, and SB 5965). HB 1732 is a bill that will delay implementation of the payroll tax of the Trust Program for 18 months. This has already passed both houses and was delivered to the governor to sign on January 26, 2022. This has been widely reported on in the local news and will probably be signed by Governor Inslee.

WAELA IS SMALL BUT MIGHTY! We encourage you to participate in the legislative process. It is easy to do at the Washington State Legislature website. Each of the bills above can be found here. On each bill page, there is a link to comment on them. Thanks for reading!

View full WAELA Bill Tracking spreadsheet

2022 UNPROGRAM - WE HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US!

The 2022 Unprogram will be held in-person on April 22-24 at Campbell’s Resort in Chelan, Washington.

There is still time to suggest topics for the Unprogram breakout sessions, so please email your suggestions to Carissa Linnane or Joshua Pops. Please also consider facilitating a breakout session that is of interest to you. Registration will be open no later than March 1, 2022; you will receive email notification including the program agenda and information to reserve your room at Campbell’s Resort.

WAELA WEBSITE

Updated by Steve King, Committee Chair

WAELA WEBINARS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON THE WAELA WEBSITE! To purchase the June 17, 2021, webinar, SECURE Act an Overview, presented by John Creahan, either click on the link or go to the WAELA Homepage and follow the Webinars link. These webinars are available to both members and nonmembers and the written materials from the presentations are included.

We’ll be uploading more webinars soon.

WAELA ANNUAL PLANNING SUMMIT

The WAELA Officers and Board of Directors met virtually on January 28, 2022, to review 2021 and make plans for 2022. 2022 Board President Joshua Pops outlined WAELA’s 2021 successes and goals for 2022.

2021 SUCCESSES include:

PROGRAMMING - Increased access to high quality continuing education programs and continued improvement in presenting virtual educational programs.

PUBLICATIONS AND WEBSITE - Over the last 2 years WAELA has added a member login portal and a library of resource materials for members, including access to past CLE materials, as well as created an Editorial Board.

PUBLIC POLICY - WAELA has continued to participate in the Washington State Senior Lobby, provided legislative information to our members, and developed the Guardianship Subcommittee in light of the enactment of the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, And Other Protective Arrangements Act.

2022 GOALS include:

Make WAELA a better and more relevant organization by harnessing the experience and expertise of the Board and WAELA members to improve the organization.

Run the organization in a fiscally responsible manner.

Increase the effectiveness of WAELA’s involvement and impact in the Washington legislative process and encourage and support members to be more involved in this process.

Continue to improve the WAELA website, including updating organization of the website to make it more user friendly, provide information for attorneys and for the public, and provide more webinar recordings and resource content.

Educate WAELA members and non-members of the benefits of NAELA and WAELA membership.

Build the new Outreach and Community Development Committee to increase the recognition of WAELA as a resource to attorneys and the community at large.

At the February 8th board of directors meeting, the Board approved the 2022 budget; please contact Carissa Linnane if you would like to see a copy.

WAELA is YOUR organization, and its goal is to provide you with the events, activities and resources that support you in serving your clients. In March you will receive a survey requesting that you commit to serving on a WAELA committee that aligns with your interests and expertise; this is a limited time commitment that will allow WAELA to continue and expand its work.

PLEASE JOIN US!

As we move into The New Year, we hope you are safe and healthy, and your practice is thriving. We will continue to work toward a better year, moving past the challenges we have all faced. Please contact WAELA if we can be of assistance to you.